Destiny: Rise of Iron raid guide - everything different in Wrath of the Machine Hard Mode
Destiny: Rise of Iron's ultimate PvE challenge is here. What do you need to know about Wrath of the Machine Hard Mode?
Wrath of the Machine Hard Mode went live in Destiny: Rise of Iron overnight and many brave guardians have already put the newer, tougher version of Aksis in the dirt.
As a result of their efforts, we know what to expect when venturing into Destiny: Rise of Iron's toughest PvE challenge. Let's talk what's different in Wrath of the Machine Hard Mode: check out the video above from Arekkz, or read on below.
Please note this guide is additive to our Wrath of the Machine raid guide pages, and intended for experienced raiders; it won't make sense if you don't already know Destiny: Rise of Iron's raid pretty well.
There are two SIVA Cache chests after each Hard Mode encounter
If you want all the best Wrath of the Machine Hard Mode gear as quickly as possible, you will of course want to use your SIVA Cache Keys to open the SIVA Caches after each encounter.
But you need to be careful here - there are now two SIVA Cache chests, and only one of them is holding that sweet Heroic loot. Unless you have heaps and heaps of SIVA Cache Keys and Key Fragments, make sure you're opening the new, Heroic chest rather than the standard one, or you won't be getting that 400 LL Hard Mode variant gear.
Archpriest Vosik Hard Mode
Aside from an increase in health and damage for both Vosik and adds, there are no changes to the first Archpriest Vosik encounter.
The second Archpriest Vosik encounter has all the same mechanics as the Wrath of the Machine normal mode version, but everything's a little bit harder due to the following changes:
- Six SIVA Charges (grenades) drop rather than three; all players must throw a SIVA Charge.
- The large central monitors will activate after each SIVA Charge round instead of the smaller, outer ones.
- The monitors have more health.
- Players will need to crouch or slide to enter safe rooms after a damage phase.
Siege Engine Hard Mode
A Fallen Walker will drop in front of the ramp leading onto the Siege Engine during the carry phase. You don't necessarily need to kill it, but you must at least break a leg to put it to sleep so you can run parts past it safely.
Otherwise, the Death Zamboni encounter plays out very similarly to Normal Mode, although as you'd expect the adds hit harder and can take more of a beating.
Aksis, Archon Prime Hard Mode
There's only one significant change to the first Aksis encounter, which is the addition of three SIVA turrets - one at each of the three arenas. These low-health defences do a lot of damage and regenerate every 20 seconds or so, meaning players will have to keep putting them down. They do not return for the second encounter.
In the second encounter, there will be nine Servitors in every SIVA Charge phase - just like the third round of the first Aksis encounter in normal mode. Your team will need to throw nine SIVA Charges at Aksis instead of three.
When Aksis is at very low health and begins to initiate SIVA Density, he will fade in and out for the first few seconds; don't use your cannon, heavy ammo and supers until you're certain of a hit. Then go ham.